July is National Ice Cream Month! Check it out. Celebrate July by eating ice cream all month long… at least that is my plan. If you have a freezer at work– allow me to introduce the concept of work ice cream– a special pint that you can take spoonfuls of when you just need a minutes peace… but I digress.
Lean into the summer, and share some books about everyone’s favorite treats!
Should I Share My Ice Cream: an Elephant and Piggie book by Mo Willems
A fun easy reader story about how to navigate the lines between the want to keep something good to yourself, and the desire to be a friend and share your ice cream. I like how Gerald thinks through what each choice could mean. Spoiler alert, when his ice cream drops, Piggie shares her ice cream with him! Yay!
Groovy Joe: Ice Cream and Dinosaurs by Eric Litwin
If you love Pete and Cat, you will love Groovy Joe. He’s a musical dog with a carefree attitude. A nice and fun song to sing with lots of repetition. Who doesn’t love ice cream? Or dinosaurs? Or dogs for that matter? It’s a fun read-aloud for story time or helping a burgeoning reader learn to read.
Wemberly’s Ice Cream Star by Kevin Henkes
This story makes me yearn for all the fun of hearing the ice cream truck as a kid (and maybe as an adult). Wemberly gets a fun ice cream star on a hot day and then worries all about it. She ends up trying to share it with her toy, Petal, but first, the star goes through a transformation into some delicious ice cream soup.
Milk to Ice Cream by Inez Snyder, From Milk to Ice Cream by Stacey Taus-Bolstad, Milk to Ice Cream by Lisa M. Herrington
These are three easy to read nonfiction books that are completely appropriate and fun for toddler/preschool story times or new years. I love helping parents/caregivers find nonfiction reads! Patrons can easily be intimidated about nonfiction, but young children are very curious about the world around them– and these three nonfiction series are really engaging and simple for little readers. It’s a great way to build background knowledge about the world around them. I personally love the From ____ to ____ series— they are really good and informative jumping-off points to learn more.
The Little Ice Cream Truck by Margery Cuyler
A cute little rhyming book that features a little truck traveling around to lots of types of communities to share the joy of ice cream. This is another hit because of the love little kids have for the cars and trucks in their lives. It would be fun for story time, but I can also imagine young ones pouring over this book to find and talk about their favorite ice cream flavors.
Program Idea:
After sharing some favorite books about ice cream– try making ice cream as a science/STEM/summer program! It’s easy and fun! Add rock salt and ice to a large ziplock bag, add a smaller bag inside–with milk, sugar, and vanilla. Seal that bag, seal the other bag… and shake shake shake! Voila! Soft serve ice cream–serve with a spoon, and sprinkles if you like! Search online for exact proportions. Tweens and teens love this program, littler ones may need more help!
Remember, always cool off with a good book– ice cream is just a bonus!